I doubt that there is such a thing as a measure of spirituality, but if there is, gratitude would be it. Only the grateful are paying attention. They are grateful because they pay attention, and they pay attention because they are so grateful.
M. Craig Barnes
The Pastor as Minor Poet
It is not really a small thing when in small things we resist self.
Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ
Human beings have very little real power over their lives. Ninety-five percent of what set the course of their lives is completely out of their control. This includes the century and place they are born in, who their parents and family are, their childhood environment, physical stature, genetically hardwired talents, and most of the circumstances that they find themselves in. In short, all we are and have is given to us by God. We are not infinite Creators, but finite dependent creatures.
Tim Keller
The best way to measure your desire to serve is to look at how you respond when someone treats you like their servant.
Scott Sauls
STUCK is when you can only see one way forward—and it’s not the route you want to take
STUCK is when you have many options—and the thought of choosing paralyzes you
STUCK is when you’re doing what you’re told to do—and not what needs to be done
STUCK is when you know things aren’t working—and can’t step back far enough to see why
STUCK is when you make a start—and then don’t follow through on what needs to be done
STUCK is when you see what needs to be done—but you make an easier choice
STUCK is when you’re doing it all on your own—and it’s wearing you out
STUCK is when you’re waiting to be rescued—and your superhero isn’t showing up
STUCK is when you know what to do—and can’t see how to do it
STUCK is when you don’t know what to do—and can’t quite define the problem
STUCK is when you’ve secretly given up—and you’re still in the race
STUCK is when you’re running flat-out—and you know you’re in the wrong race
STUCK is when you’ve got big dreams—and you’re too afraid to chase them
STUCK is when you don’t have big dreams—and you feel empty
Michael Bungay Stanier
To dare is to lose one's footing momentarily. Not to dare is to lose oneself.
Soren Kiekegaard
The sea is not less beautiful in our eyes because we know that sometimes ships are wrecked by it.
Simone Weil
In the final analysis, the questions of why bad things happen to good people transmutes itself into some very different questions, no longer asking why something happened, but asking how we will respond, what we intend to do now that it happened.
Teilhard de Chardin
After centuries of handling and mishandling, most religious words have become so shopworn nobody's much interested anymore. Not so with grace, for some reason. Mysteriously, even derivatives like gracious and graceful still have some of the bloom left.
Grace is something you can never get but can only be given. There's no way to earn it or deserve it or bring it about any more than you can deserve the taste of raspberries and cream or earn good looks or bring about your own birth.
A good sleep is grace and so are good dreams. Most tears are grace. The smell of rain is grace. Somebody loving you is grace. Loving somebody is grace. Have you ever tried to love somebody?
A crucial eccentricity of the Christian faith is the assertion that people are saved by grace. There's nothing you have to do. There's nothing you have to do. There's nothing you have to do.
The grace of God means something like: "Here is your life. You might never have been, but you are, because the party wouldn't have been complete without you. Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid. I am with you. Nothing can ever separate us. It's for you I created the universe. I love you."
There's only one catch. Like any other gift, the gift of grace can be yours only if you'll reach out and take it.
Maybe being able to reach out and take it is a gift too.
Frederick Buechner
Wishful Thinking
The very fire that blackens my horizon warms my soul. The darkness that oppresses my mind sharpens my vision. The flood that overwhelms my heart quenches my thirst. The thorns that penetrate my flesh strengthen my Spirit. The grave that buries my desire deepens my devotion. Man’s failure to comprehend this intention of God is one of life’s true calamities.
James Means
A Tearful Celebration
Every real saint eventually left the system of possessions, privilege, and power, so that he or she could hear and speak the truth. In doing so, they were joining Jonah in the whale, Jeremiah in the cistern, Job on the dunghill, and Jesus on the cross. It seems to be the way.
Richard Rohr
Job and the Mystery of Suffering